Dominion
The Dominion was a major galactic political power, whose influence is exerted over thousands of planets in the Gamma Quadrant. The Dominion was founded somewhere between 10,000 and 2,000 years ago by the Changelings, a species of shapeshifters who henceforth called themselves the Founders. History :See: Dominion history & Dominion War Politics .]] Absolute rule of the Dominion remained in the hands of the Founders and their Great Link, whose decisions could not be disputed under any circumstances. However, the Founders were largely content to leave running the day-to-day affairs of the Dominion to the Vorta. The loyalty of the Vorta and the Jem'Hadar are genetically engineered, which in most cases ensured absolute obediance to the Founders. The Founders themselves were rarely seen, even by their servant races, and were treated as gods or myth. (DS9: "Hippocratic Oath", "Treachery, Faith, and the Great River") The Dominion was founded on the principle of control, with the intent being to neutralize any potential threat to the Founders by whatever means necessary. In cases involving cooperative species such as the Karemma, the extent of Dominion interference is fairly minimal and restricted to material support. However, if the target species is or becomes less cooperative, the Jem'Hadar are dispatched to wipe out any opposition. The fear of massive Jem'Hadar reprisals is enough to keep most planets in line. For a prospective member, at first contact the Dominion may appear helpful, or even benevolent. A typical Dominion strategy is to make concessions in the short term for an advantage in the longer term, which may be centuries in advance. (DS9: "The Search, Part I", "Statistical Probabilities") :Also See: Dominion philosophy Language Dominionese was at least one common language used by the Dominion. It is unknown if the Dominion member races maintained or used race-specific or world-specific tongues. Members There are several member species in the Dominion, as the Founders claim to control the destinies of hundreds of species. (DS9: "The Search, Part II") Their members include: *Breen (2375) *Cardassians (2373-2375) *Dosi *Jem'Hadar (military servant race) *Karemma *T-Rogorans (conquered 2370) *Vorta (servant race) *Yaderans (conquered 2340) :Also See: Dominion planets Technology By the time of the Dominion War, Dominion technology appeared to have significantly outpaced that of most Alpha Quadrant species. Instead of phased energy or disruptor beams, Jem'Hadar plasma rifles emitted powerful polaron beams that had the side-effect of acting as an anticoagulant in some humanoids, thereby impeding the natural wound-healing process. (DS9: "The Ship") Similarly, Dominion and Breen warships displayed more impressive firepower than their Alpha Quadrant counterparts. Phased polaron beams were mounted on all Jem'Hadar attack ships, dealing heavy blows to Federation shield emitters in early Dominion encounters. The Breen also wielded a huge advantage on the battlefield with an energy dissipating weapon capable of disabling Federation and Romulan vessels with a single shot. To the allied forces' credit, they developed and deployed technological countermeasures with incredible speed. In particular, the Breen energy dissipator would have cost countless more lives were it not for a particularly bold mission in Dominion territory to retrieve one of the weapons for analysis. (DS9: "Tacking Into the Wind") Background Information The Dominion was first mentioned in DS9: "Rules of Acquisition", "Sanctuary" and "Shadowplay", before being finally encountered in "The Jem'Hadar". The idea the DS9 writers had was to make the Dominion a kind of anti-Federation, similar in structure but with very different ideologies. The idea was for the Dominon to represent a wide array of alien races, like the Federation and unlike the Klingon, Romulan, and Cardassian Empires, but fascist-like with control and domination marking the Dominion in contrast to the cooperation and freedom of the Federation. The idea was for many species to be seen on Dominion vessels and involved in various parts of the Dominion's activities, eventually though, only three "main" species were firmly established; The Founders, the Jem Hadar, and the Vorta. One idea that the writers had that was never actively utilized was that the Dominion knew about the Federation long before the Bajoran wormhole was discovered, due to the 100 infant Founders sent out into the galaxy. However, Odo's return and the war occurred two centuries prematurely. Category:Governments de:Dominion fr:Dominion nl:Dominion